Page 4 of The Wolf’s Bullied Mate (Moondust Hollow Wolves #2)

“If you put in whom you want to have chosen for you correctly, you should get a woman that’s exactly your type,” Mom said.

“The agency has been around for over a decade. They have a history of good matches that have resulted in matings and people being together forever. They’re reputable, so you can go outside Moondust Hollow and search the entire state to find your mate. ”

I nodded. If my mate did exist somewhere, I was almost certain she wasn’t in our pack. Maybe this agency could really help me find her?

“And what if I don’t like the person they selected for me?” I asked.

“They keep the fee you pay for being matched, but you’re not bound to go through the meeting or the marriage,” Mom smiled softly. “It’s not a bad idea, Oliver.”

“I will… think about it.” I put the flyer down on the worktable. “I really will. I never thought I would need such a service to help me, but… why not? I just have to get used to the idea.”

Mom’s smile widened. “Thank you, son. I’m glad you like my advice.”

“Always, Mom,” I returned her smile. “I know you and Dad only want what’s best for me.

Maybe this will work out, maybe not. I will think about it and tell you later if I want to try it.

” I looked at my watch. “I have to excuse myself for now. My break is over. I need to return to the townhouse and assist Ryder.”

Mom nodded and came in for a farewell hug. When she left the garage, I folded up the flyer, putting it into the pocket of my jeans. Then I went into the house to freshen up and change into a new shirt.

Ten minutes later, I was heading towards the townhouse.

I didn’t live far away from where I worked, just a ten-minute walk, so I liked spending my breaks at home.

It was easy to heat up my lunch in my kitchen and then work in my garage.

It was almost 3 pm, and I had a meeting with Ryder and Caden planned.

I entered the red brick building and passed the reception area to Ryder’s office.

He had kept his father’s old furniture in there, including an ugly chandelier that hung from the ceiling like a blight.

He had told me the old decor reminded him of his late dad, and I had encouraged him to keep the items to remember his father.

If the furnishing brought him comfort, there was no reason to redecorate.

The chandelier with its tacky plastic candles could go through, in my opinion. The thing drew the sight of everyone coming into the office, and not in a good way.

Ryder smiled at me and gestured to one of the guest chairs in front of his dark wooden desk. “Good to see you, Oliver.”

“Likewise,” I smiled and sat to the left.

Caden barged in immediately after me, breathing heavily.

I turned to him and arched my eyebrows. “You can never be on time, can you?”

He frowned, plopping heavily into the chair on the right side. “I am on time.”

I looked down at my watch. It showed a minute past three.

I opened my mouth to inform him that he was one minute late, but Caden huffed. “Don’t even start.”

A wide smile graced my lips. “Whom else would I tease, if not my best friend.”

“You bet I am,” he replied, giving me a look.

“Gentlemen,” Ryder tapped his fingers on the desk. “Can we proceed with the meeting? I want to spend the rest of my day with Aria.”

I chuckled, and Caden smiled.

“Alright,” I said. “Today’s Wednesday, so it’s our weekly meeting about the state of affairs in the pack.” I opened the conversation.

“Caden, please give your report first,” Ryder nodded.

“There’s nothing to report. Ever since you defeated the Wolfsbane Society there hasn’t been any opposition towards your leadership.

Nobody wants to move against our alpha and his family.

We currently have friendly relations with all the other packs; no war brewing on the horizon or anything sinister.

We’re safe and at peace,” Caden explained.

“Oliver?” Ryder turned to me.

“When it comes to conflicts within the pack, there haven’t been more than the usual number, and Aria has almost completely taken over dealing with them.

She’s excellent at the job, so I’ve only been taking care of the accounting.

I assume that once Aria’s pregnancy becomes more advanced, I will cover more of the internal affairs again.

Nevertheless, I suggest we still include luna in weekly meetings as she might also have something to offer about the atmosphere in the pack from her perspective,” I suggested.

Ryder nodded. “That’s an excellent idea. So, to sum up, there are currently no threats against the pack, and the internal affairs are in order. Nobody feels overworked, and we are sharing our responsibilities equally. We can enjoy a well-managed pack, then.”

I smiled. “That’s true. All is fine in the books as well.

Nobody embezzles money, and our economic situation is stable.

I’m preparing the proposal to reopen the fish cannery.

It’s going to be a while longer until I have it ready to show you, though, as I’m discussing the matter with potential parties interested in running the business for us. ”

“Good,” Ryder smiled. “Is that all we have to discuss for the meeting?”

“Feels very short,” Caden chuckled.

I thought for a moment. “I may have something I’d like to have your opinion on, but it’s not directly connected to pack matters.”

“Shoot,” Ryder waved his hand, encouraging me.

I put my hand into the pocket of my jeans, took out the flyer, and laid it down on the desk, smoothing out the wrinkles as best as I could.

“An arranged marriage agency?” Caden whistled when he saw the big text on the paper.

“My mom gave this flyer to me,” I explained. “She wants me to try to find my mate soon.”

Caden laughed out loud. “Oliver… as sociable as you are, I never thought you’d have to rely on such a company to find you your mate.

” He continued laughing as if it were the stupidest idea in the world.

“Really… Oliver and an arranged marriage… That’s hilarious…

” He had trouble speaking through the sounds of laughter.

A pang of hurt went through my heart, and doubts immediately arose.

Ryder cleared his throat. “I don’t think it’s funny, Caden. Oliver knows everybody in the pack already, and yet he still hasn’t found his fated mate. Maybe she really could be from another pack. It says the company is looking for partners across all of Missouri,” he tapped his finger on the flyer.

Caden stopped laughing, looking at both me and Ryder with wide eyes. “Wait, this isn’t a joke? You’re seriously considering it?”

I nodded. “I am… I figured it might not be a bad idea to broaden my search by contacting this company. If they don’t find me a good match, no problem. But what if they could find me a mate, and I’m missing out by not letting them try?”

Ryder gave me a nod. “It’s reasonable to give it a chance. You have my full support.”

“Hmm,” Caden looked closely at the flyer again. “It does say here they’ve been around for over ten years. Maybe they are reliable after all.” He looked at me again. “Just don’t mate with the woman they suggest to you unless you’re one hundred percent sure you want to be with her.”

“I know. Mating’s for life, after all. I want to choose well,” I said.

“You’re serious about finding a mate, aren’t you?” Caden’s eyes widened. “You want to settle down.”

“Now that I’ve seen how happy Ryder is, I want a family of my own,” I smiled. “And the pack is safe. There can’t be a better time to mate and have children.”

Caden scratched the back of his head. “Maybe I should try this service myself sometime.”

I chuckled. “That would require you to stop chasing after every attractive woman you come across.”

“Hey!” Caden gave me the ‘killer look.’ “I’m not sleeping with every woman I come across.”

“Just every third,” I chuckled.

Caden sighed. “I’ve been getting laid much, much less lately,” he mumbled.

“Right,” I winked at him.

“I’m serious,” he pouted.

“I hope you find your mate soon, Oliver, be it through the agency or not,” Ryder said.

I nodded. “I hope so, too.”

We concluded the meeting, and I put my flyer back in my pocket. Once outside Ryder’s office, I said goodbye to Caden and walked to my office.

My office had new furniture, unlike Ryder’s.

I was the one who had picked the décor, so beiges and light browns ruled the space.

I walked behind my desk and took my seat, turning on the computer.

Next to the entrance door, right in front of where I sat, was a giant landscape painting depicting Fairlake from an aerial view.

I’d had a local painter make it for me three years ago.

It reminded me of what I worked so hard every day to protect—the Moondust Hollow pack who called this town their own.

When my computer came on, I typed the address of the Twin Tails Agency into the search bar. The FAQ on the company’s page said much of the same things as my mom had already told me. I hovered over the ‘Sign Up Today’ button.

The page informed me there would be a fee for registering—quite a sizable one but still affordable for me considering the salary I got as beta of the pack.

I guessed the hefty price tag was supposed to scare away people who weren’t really serious about finding a mate.

There was also a note that only men had to pay the fee, whereas women registered for free.

They must have been having an imbalance in candidates and needed more women to sign up.

I pondered, clicking the button for a moment. Giving up some control over whom I would be paired with really didn’t seem like a bad thing. At first, I had felt opposed to the idea, but not anymore. I could always refuse the match. I wasn’t completely losing the freedom to choose my mate.

The proud part of myself wanted to find my mate completely on my own, but my wolf urged me to register on the page.

As far as he understood, we were actively looking for a mate, and it didn’t matter to the animal how we were doing so.

He only felt that I was searching and was very eager to push me towards finding our partner, no matter how we succeeded in discovering her.

I chuckled. I wasn’t going to explain to my wolf self what an arranged marriage agency was.

My wolf was very smart, but this kind of service was such a human thing. Funny that it could be used to find the mate we longed for—both animal and man.

I clicked the ‘Sign Up Today’ button. After paying the fee, the page took me to a survey that asked me to describe my ideal woman.

I thought deeply for a moment, considering all the women I had met and felt attracted to in my life, to determine what I should fill in on the survey.

Memories of my exes came to me, but every one of them had ultimately pushed me away from them for one reason or another.

My mother came to mind, too —she was the first woman who had served as a role model for my future perception of women, after all.

Yet, as much as I liked my mother, my ideal woman wasn’t an exact replica of her—that idea felt creepy and unnatural.

One person came to mind, though, who felt perfect. She had long, straight red hair and green eyes. She had been blushing and shy as I introduced her to more and more people in the pack in hopes of her becoming more comfortable with social interaction and opening up to everyone, including myself.

Pauline Anderson. My high school crush.

Memories of the cute redhead filled my mind.

As a teenager, I made fun of her looks and her special power of seeing the future, but that teasing had all been done with good fun.

As a young man, I had no idea how to properly interact with the woman I liked.

Shortly after discovering she was a psychic, we had graduated from high school.

We had lost contact then, and I had heard later that she had moved out of Fairlake with her parents, leaving the pack behind.

I wondered where Pauline was now. What was she doing? What was her life like?

I wouldn’t mind if my fated partner ended up being someone like Pauline; a little bit shy, a little bit awkward, but so cute nonetheless. Someone whom I could protect. Someone who would accept me the way I was. Someone who wanted to build a new life together with me.

I filled out the survey thinking of my shy and caring childhood crush.

The survey asked me if I minded if my potential mate had children. I pondered the question for a moment and concluded that I didn’t have anything against falling in love with her kids either. I loved children. They didn’t have to be my own for me to accept them.

I finished the survey and hit send.

As I leaned back in my chair, I wondered how long it would take for the agency to find me a mate. I had to admit I was excited about what the future might bring.